Oregon’s SB-978 Gun Control Bill Is So Hysterically Restrictive That PEPPER SPRAY Is a Felony

A new gun control bill introduced in the Oregon State Legislature added 45 pages of draconian amendments [2]the night before the vote. SB978 passed the Judiciary Committee yesterday and now heads to the Oregon Senate.

It’s a good thing that some parts of this state have vowed to be 2A sanctuaries[3] because Oregonians are going to need them. If the gun owners – and even pepper spray owners – in other parts of the state hope to defend themselves, they could be facing a vast new array of felony charges.

Raising the minimum age

They want to raise the minimum age to buy a gun to 21 in certain cases.

The following may establish a minimum age of 18,19, 20 or 21 years for the purchase of firearms, firearm accessories, firearm components, ammunition or ammunition components, or for the repair or service of a firearm:
“(a) A person transferring a firearm, a firearm accessory, a firearm
component, ammunition or an ammunition component at a gun show;
“(b) A gun dealer; or
“(c) A business engaged in repairing or servicing a firearm

Keeping your gun locked up

Residents will be required to keep their guns locked up at all times that they are not being carried. These rules will render guns all but useless in the event a person needs to access them to protect themselves and their family.

A person who owns or possesses a firearm shall, at all times that the firearm is not carried by or under the control of
the person or an authorized person, secure the firearm:

“(A) With an engaged trigger lock or cable lock that meets or exceeds the minimum specifications established by the Oregon Health Authority under section 10 of this 2019 Act;
“(B) In a locked container, equipped with a tamper-resistant lock, that meets or exceeds the minimum specifications established by the Oregon Health Authority under section 10 of this 2019 Act; or
“(C) In a gun room.
“(b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a firearm is not secured if a key, combination or other means of opening a lock or container is readily available to a person the owner or possessor has not authorized to carry or control the firearm.

Failure to follow these rules is a Class C Felony. Also, don’t get excited about the phrase “gun room” because your bedroom doesn’t count.

‘Gun room’ means an area within a building enclosed by walls, a floor and a ceiling, including a closet, that has all entrances secured by a tamper-resistant lock, that is kept locked at all times when unoccupied and that is used for:
“(a) The storage of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms or ammunition, or equipment for firearm-related activities including but not limited to reloading ammunition, gunsmithing and firearm cleaning and maintenance; or
“(b) Conducting firearm-related activities, including but not limited to reloading ammunition, gunsmithing and firearm cleaning and maintenance.

Gun owners are liable for the acts of gun thieves

If your gun/guns are stolen, you must report it. Failure to do so is a Class B felony per weapon. And if the thief hurts or kills someone with the stolen firearm, the owner is liable for two years.

If you have kids, look out.

Any adult who transfers a firearm to a minor is responsible for any actions taken by that minor with the firearm. And if you want to take your kids shooting or hunting, they must be “directly supervised.” And if a young person gets ahold of a parent’s gun, the parent is liable for the young person’s action. If the gun isn’t secured as per the rules above, then the adult is charged with even more crimes.

“(b) Unlawful storage of a firearm is a Class A violation if the minor who obtains possession of the firearm intentionally, by word or conduct, attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury.
“(c) Unlawful storage of a firearm is a Class A misdemeanor if the minor who obtains possession of the firearm injures or kills a person by means of the firearm.

Oregon wants to crack down on unregistered guns.

The next section deals with “ghost guns.” Pages 11-19 offer a lengthy list of rules, restrictions, requirements, and record-keeping for the transfer of antique guns, gun parts, and much more. If you have them, you’ll be a felon upon the passage of this bill.

The next section makes it more complicated to transport a gun.

If this passes, gun owners who are not concealed-carry permit holders will have to jump through all sorts of hoops to transport a firearm in a vehicle, including locking it in a box in a “secure” are of the vehicle.

Concealed carry permit fees will go up.

The next section deals with CC permits and the related fees, increasing them in another effort to put an undue burden on law-abiding citizens.

And then there’s the stuff about “public buildings.”

In this bill can find a massive list of restrictions regarding having a gun on the premises of or “near” public buildings. To me, this is the scariest part because it’s so incredibly arbitrary.

In section 25, Local Authority to Regulate Firearms in Public Buildings,” airports, ports, hospitals, schools, colleges, universities probate courts, city halls, homes of officials, and other “public buildings” – and even their grounds – can restrict not only guns but also the following:

“(10) ‘Weapon’ means:

“(a) A firearm;
“(b) Any dirk, dagger, ice pick, slingshot, metal knuckles or any similar instrument or a knife, other than an ordinary pocketknife with a blade less than four inches in length, the use of which could inflict injury upon a person or property;
“(c) Mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious agent as defined in ORS 163.211;
“(d) An electrical stun gun or any similar instrument;
“(e) A tear gas weapon as defined in ORS 163.211;
“(f) A club, bat, baton, billy club, bludgeon, knobkerrie, nunchaku,
nightstick, truncheon or any similar instrument, the use of which could inflict injury upon a person or property; or
“(g) A dangerous or deadly weapon as those terms are defined in ORS
161.015.

Public places as defined in the bill need only to “post a sign, visible to the public, identifying all locations where
the affirmative defense described in ORS 166.370 (3)(g) is limited or precluded.”

And if you ignore the sign and get caught?

You’re guilty of a Class C felony. Even if your gun is unloaded.

Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or unloaded firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class C felony.

Gun grabbers are overjoyed

Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s anti-gun foundation was delighted with the bill even before the super-secret amendments were added. In a statement[9], spokeswoman Robin Lloyd said:

“Gun violence hurts hundreds of Oregon families each year. The proposed provisions in the bills heard today are the critical next steps that Oregon should take to save lives. For example, homemade, untraceable ghost guns pose serious threats to law enforcement and communities impacted by gun violence. A commitment from lawmakers to stem the flow of these firearms will ensure criminals aren’t able to easily get their hands on an undetectable weapon. Today’s hearings highlight a serious commitment by the legislature to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in Oregon. I applaud Attorney General Rosemblum [sic] and the Oregon legislature for prioritizing these lifesaving measures.”

SB 978-1 includes commonsense efforts to reduce gun violence like requiring safe storage of firearms, holding gun owners accountable to make sure kids don’t get their hands on a gun, requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms, and providing increased regulation of 3D-printed guns and unfinished frames or receivers, parts used to produce ghost guns. (source[9])

If it passes, it will spread.

Gun control laws are like a virus – if they pass in one place they’ll spread to other places. And there’s little reason to believe that in this era of anti-gun hysteria, the legislature will strike down this unconstitutional bill. Thankfully, 13 of 36 Oregon sheriffs have already vowed to make their counties Second Amendment sanctuaries.

But heaven forbid an Oregonian gets caught driving out of their 2A sanctuary county[3] with a usable firearm.